[Afamilyatwar-list] David Lean on Writers

[Veit, Richard]

Hello, All.

This is a bit off-topic, but it does tie in with our frequent comments about John Finch and A Family at War.

I am reading a biography of film director Sir David Lean (1908-1991), and I came across this quote from him:

"The greatest mental and creative effort in any film is in the writing of the script. The writer not only creates the story but produces human beings out of his imagination, gives them words to speak and thoughts to think. He is the only truly creative person on a film. Without him, the actors would not have parts to play or words to speak, and the directors would be making documentary films, good enough in themselves, but without the force, the humanity and the appeal of a dramatic work of art."

I think that is a very generous and revealing statement, coming from someone who directed such classics as:

In Which We Serve
This Happy Breed
Brief Encounter
Great Expectations
Hobson's Choice
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Lawrence of Arabia
Doctor Zhivago
Ryan's Daughter
A Passage to India

All too often, I think the screenwriter does not receive ample credit, recognition, and financial rewards.

Richard Veit
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/afamilyatwar-list/attachments/20180703/0d4cb1e9/attachment-0001.html>